The Federal Communications Commission is going to scrutinize markets where mobile phones such as Apple's iPhone or Palm's Pre are unavailable because those areas aren't served by carriers with exclusive handset-maker contracts, according to interviews with FCC chairman Julius Genachowski published by Reuters and Bloomberg.
That probe comes on top of plans for the FCC to investigate exclusive arrangements between the handset makers and wireless service carriers, including AT&T, which has the sole right to provide service for the iPhone, and Sprint Nextel, which has a similar deal for the Pre. ,a +"http://www.crn.com/networking/218100296">That investigation was announced in June after four U.S. senators called on the FCC to examine the exclusive contracts.

"In some markets, no matter what, you can't get an iPhone or you can't get a Pre," the FCC chairman said in the Reuters interview. He said he didn't know how long such an investigation might take. "I don't want to prejudge it. This is the kind of thing that an expert agency should look at based on facts, based on data," he said.

The federal agency will consider whether such deals hinder innovation and if they are "consistent with broad consumer interests," the chairman told Bloomberg.

Wireless carriers are feeling the pressure from the increased scrutiny. Earlier this month Verizon said that new deals with handset manufacturers will be limited to no more than six months compared to the typical one- or two-year deals today.

Genachowski, a former telecommunications industry executive, took office June 29 after being appointed by President Barack Obama to head up the agency that regulates telephone, cable and broadcast companies.

The FCC will also aggressively promote expanded availability of high-speed, broadband Internet access throughout the U.S., according to the Reuters and Bloomberg interviews.

Posted by Rick Whiting at 6:13 PM

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